And now for something completely different

I read that Shannon Tavarez, a young star of “The Lion King” died of leukemia. A bone donor match could not be found.

So. Are you registered? I’ve been on the list for about two years. Find a drive (preferably one that pays – because it can be pricey) and go give just a bit of spit.

The search for a match was especially daunting because Shannon’s mother is African American and her father is Hispanic, from the Dominican Republic. For bone marrow transplants, minorities and those of mixed ancestry have a more difficult time finding good matches because there aren’t as many people from those groups signed up as potential donors. Right now, 83% of African-American patients who need marrow transplants don’t find matches after six months of searching, according to the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping patients receive transplants.